Fiction Writing

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Introduction
I attempted my first novel, a science fiction called Project Integrens, over twenty years ago, but it wasn't until I retired that I could devote myself wholeheartedly to fiction. My first published novel was The Girl in the Golden House, and then I revisited Project Integrens: that too is now published, as is Disguises (as Sally Leigh). My latest, Tin Dragons, was launched 19 May, 2008. I have also published several short stories. Details appear below. A common theme in my fiction is misunderstanding between characters. I like using different voices in the first person – old, young, contemporary, historical, Chinese, Australian, alien, female, male – to present the perspective of the misunderstood Other.

NEW RELEASE Tin Dragons (Maygog Publishing 2008)
A Tale of Revenge, Romance and Redemption in the tin mines of nineteenth century North East Tasmania! Jack Yang, orphaned in a horrific incident during the Tai Ping Revolution in China, seeks a new life far away in the tin mines at Emu Flat in Tasmania, as do many of his fellow Chinese. Emu Flat is also a magnet for misfits and fortune-hunters, including a crooked mine manager, his muscle-bound minder, the evil Wu Ying, and Terry and Lizzie, two working girls in the guise of English teachers. A dangerous swindle by Wu Ying throws them all together. Terry falls in love with Jack but he, recognising Wu Ying as the one who destroyed his family, is too obsessed with exacting a savage revenge… Biggs spins a yarn that takes us right inside the mining camps. We see and smell the miners' shanties and are introduced to a fascinating and thoroughly believable set of characters … The North-Eastern Advertiser, Scottsdale . More Reviews Purchase Online: www.redhen.com.au Mail Order: Send cheque for $30 (inc. postage in Australia) to John Biggs, PO Box 1083, SANDY BAY Tas 7006 Excerpt: ' ... leave no eggs intact'

Disguises (Burville Books, 2007)
Some people choose their disguise, others have it forced upon them. Cathie Lee is a Gen Y Australian girl—but as a second generation Chinese, she's forced to wear a Chinese disguise. That's cool—until Pauline Hanson strikes and Cathie experiences racism from her fellow Australians. She writes about one nasty experience that wins a competition—and that decides her career: journalism. For a final year assignment, she interviews Peter Harris, a harmless looking old guy she meets in a café. But the story he tells of a love affaire in 'sixties Hong Kong, the Cultural Revolution, police corruption and murky family secrets detonates a time bomb that blows Cathie's life apart. What disguise is Peter wearing? Take a chapter from Puberty Blues, add an adult version of Looking for Alibrandi, fold in some Tai Pan, season with a dash of Cultural Revolutionary sauce—and you have something of the flavour of Disguises. Purchase Online: www.redhen.com.au Mail Order:Send cheque for $30 (inc. postage in Australia) to John Biggs, PO Box 1083, SANDY BAY Tas 7006 Reviews Excerpts: Cathie becomes a journo Wai Yee

Project Integrens (Sid harta, 2006)
How will Man-as-he-is interact with Man-as-she-will-be? Not as well as first appears...John Ashley and his student lover, Liz Brown, break more than academic taboos when they meet two attractive strangers. But these strangers are stranger than John and Liz imagined: they are from the planet Kozlar and they have integrated brains. Homo Integrens is an evolutionary step or two ahead of Homo sapiens: they can outcon us any time. With a little sexual blackmail, John and Liz are persuaded to visit Kozlar where they learn they are to be subjects in surgical experiments on their brains. If the experiments are successsful they will be held as breeders, but if not? Don't ask. Their only hope is the loving, child-like Weyen. But hey, hasn't she got integrated brains too? Award: Genre Fiction, 2003 Jacobyte Fiction Competition. Purchase Online: www.redhen.com.au Mail Order: Send cheque for $30 (inc. postage in Australia) to John Biggs, PO Box 1083, SANDY BAY Tas 7006 Reviews Excerpts: 'Meet homo integrens ...' In the depths of Liz's brain

The Girl in the Golden House (Pandanus Books, 2003)
Chris Wong is brought up to believe that if he studies hard, he will find his golden house and the right girl to share it with him. But his sexual awakening is complicated by the political realities of modern Hong Kong and traditional Chinese beliefs on love, marriage and career. After the Tiananmen Massacre, many Hong Kong men became ‘astronauts’, parking their families in Western countries to gain citizenship, while they continued working in Hong Kong. Many families snapped under that strain, Chris’s included. His wife Emily sought solace in Australian arms while he was in Hong Kong, making money… Purchase Online: www.redhen.com.au or www.unireps.com.au Mail Order: Send cheque for $30 (inc. postage in Australia) to John Biggs, PO Box 1083, SANDY BAY Tas 7006 … The book affected me greatly! I find it has remained haunting me since I finished it - in a way few books do. It provided me with of a snapshot of a life that could be so easily led by any one of us….the way the story was interwoven with real events and politics gave the book the edge. I have learnt so much about the world that you lived in, a world that I now, at least partly, know too. Unsolicited email from Tim F, uni student. Reviews Extracts: Only My Chinese Teacher Post-Tiananmen Hong Kong

Short Stories
Short story writing was my entrée into fiction, as I guess it is with many. The Girl in the Golden House evolved from three stories set in Hong Kong. I have published fourteen stories, many having received awards in national competitions. Here are a couple of stories, 'Wok au vin' set in Tasmania and 'Just one sip more' in Hong Kong. Both play on a common theme of mine: love and misunderstanding. Wok au Vin Just One Sip More And here's two long short stories in a nice package! "Forgiveness". Tom and Susan are a perfectly suited couple. But Susan feels suffocated in Hobart so they start a new life in Hong Kong where life is -- at first -- a wonderful dream. But Susan has a fatal flaw that Tom doesn't understand until too late. Aghast at what he has done, he returns to Hobart seeking forgiveness. Excerpt from "Forgiveness" "Those Teeth". Peter Morrison and fellow teacher Jim Hopkins decide to teach each other's wife how to drive. But Jim has more in mind than driving cars – and there is a major marital bust-up. Peter, transferred to a new school and badly missing his wife, has a one night stand with a pub pick-up. He is gobsmacked when he meets her again -- in his classroom. Excerpt from "Those Teeth" Purchase both stories in one package online: pickapocketbook.com ($12 post free in Australia) List of Publications
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Purchase Online: www.redhen.com.au